To update Proxmox VE 9 without a subscription, disable the enterprise repositories and add the no-subscription repository. Then run apt update and apt full-upgrade from the shell (or select Refresh and Upgrade in the web GUI), and reboot if the update installed a new kernel. That’s how to update Proxmox servers in just about every home lab, and the last section covers the upgrade from 8 to 9.
As of October 2026, the current release is Proxmox VE 9.2 (built on Debian 13 Trixie), and everything below is written for it. After you set up and configure Proxmox VE, it points at the paid enterprise repository.
The enterprise repository gets updates that have already been tested. The no-subscription repository’s packages aren’t always as heavily tested, so it’s really designed for testing environments and homes. In my July 2025 Proxmox beginner’s guide (on Proxmox VE 8), I said I’d never run into any problems with it, but that does not necessarily mean that you’ll never run into any problems. If you’re using Proxmox in an enterprise environment, I’d highly suggest paying for the subscription.
How to Update Proxmox Without a Subscription
Without a subscription, disable both enterprise repositories and add the no-subscription repository. Proxmox VE 9 enables the enterprise repository by default and also comes with a preconfigured Ceph enterprise repository (ceph.sources), and both need a subscription, so apt update fails with 401 Unauthorized on whichever is still enabled. That’s why a Proxmox update isn’t working on a fresh install. If you have a subscription, skip to the command line section.
Proxmox VE 9 also moved its repository files to the deb822 format, .sources files in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ instead of one-line .list files.
Switch the Repositories in the Web GUI
1. Select your node in the Server View, then Updates, and finally, Repositories, which lists the enterprise repository and, if your install has one, the Ceph enterprise entry.
2. Select the enterprise repository, then Disable, and do the same for the Ceph enterprise entry.
3. Select Add, select OK on the No valid subscription message, choose No-Subscription from the dropdown, and select Add again to add and enable it. If you run Ceph, add the no-subscription Ceph entry for your Ceph release the same way.
Switch the Repositories from the Shell
To edit the files directly, open your node’s Shell. Proxmox’s documentation turns off an entry with an Enabled: no line.
1. Open the PVE enterprise file and add Enabled: no as the entry’s last line, as below.
nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.sourcesTypes: deb
URIs: https://enterprise.proxmox.com/debian/pve
Suites: trixie
Components: pve-enterprise
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg
Enabled: no2. If /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ceph.sources exists, add the same Enabled: no line to its enterprise entry.
3. Create the no-subscription file with nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/proxmox.sources, paste the entry below and save it.
Types: deb
URIs: http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve
Suites: trixie
Components: pve-no-subscription
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg4. Only if you run Ceph storage on Proxmox, add a no-subscription Ceph entry at the end of ceph.sources, after a blank line, that matches your Ceph release (ceph --version). Ceph installed on 9.2 defaults to Tentacle (ceph-tentacle), while clusters set up before 9.2 stay on Squid (ceph-squid) until you upgrade them.
Types: deb
URIs: http://download.proxmox.com/debian/ceph-tentacle
Suites: trixie
Components: no-subscription
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/proxmox-archive-keyring.gpg5. Run apt update, which should finish with no errors. A 401 line means an enterprise entry is still enabled.
Or Use the Proxmox VE Post-Install Script
In my December 2024 video on new-install changes and my July 2025 beginner’s guide (both on Proxmox VE 8), I skipped the manual edits and ran the post-install script from the Proxmox VE helper scripts.
As of October 2026, the script is called PVE Post Install on community-scripts.org and supports Proxmox VE 8.0 through 9.2.x. At the PVE-ENTERPRISE and CEPH-ENTERPRISE prompts the highlighted answer is keep, so choose disable at both (keeping either one leaves the 401 error), then say yes to adding pve-no-subscription. Later prompts offer Ceph sources (choose no on Squid), a disabled pvetest repository, removing the subscription nag, disabling high availability (choose no on a cluster) and updating and rebooting.
bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/community-scripts/ProxmoxVE/main/tools/pve/post-pve-install.sh)"It’s third-party code that runs as root, so go through the script and understand exactly what it does before you run it (I did that before running it in my December 2024 video).
How to Update Proxmox from the Command Line
The Proxmox update command is two apt commands, run from the node’s Shell or over SSH: apt update refreshes the package lists, and apt full-upgrade installs everything that’s newer.
apt update
apt full-upgradeUse full-upgrade (or the older dist-upgrade) rather than apt upgrade, which the Proxmox documentation says can leave packages partially upgraded or broken because it can’t remove packages to satisfy new dependencies. If apt update reports an error, stop and fix the repositories first.
When I updated my Proxmox VE 8 host in my July 2025 beginner’s guide, I rebooted as soon as the updates finished installing. Reboot after any Proxmox update that installs a new kernel, since the host keeps running the old one until it restarts.
To check which version you’re on, run pveversion. It prints a line like pve-manager/9.2.2/b9984c6d90a4bd80 (running kernel: 7.0.2-6-pve).
pveversionProxmox doesn’t install updates on its own. It checks daily and emails root@pam when some are available.
How to Update Proxmox from the Web GUI
If you’d rather not touch the shell, the same update runs from your node’s Updates panel, which is how I ran it in my July 2025 beginner’s guide (on Proxmox VE 8).
1. Select your node, then Updates, and select Refresh. Without a subscription, a No valid subscription message comes up first, so select OK. A task window then opens with the apt update output, and once you close it, the list shows the available Proxmox updates.
2. To see what changed in a package, select it and then Changelog.
3. Select Upgrade, and in the console that opens, enter Y and press Enter to install the listed packages.
4. If the package list included a proxmox-kernel package, select Reboot at the top right of the node’s page.
As I said in that video, you will periodically have to do this, and how often you install Proxmox updates is up to you, but you should always keep your system up to date.
How to Upgrade Proxmox from 8 to 9
Proxmox VE 8 reached end of life in August 2026. A major upgrade goes through apt, in place: run the pve8to9 checklist, switch the sources from Bookworm to Trixie, run apt dist-upgrade and reboot. Point releases, like 9.1 to 9.2, are normal updates through either method above. The other route is a fresh install from the ISO, which deletes all data on the host, so you’d be restoring your VMs from backup afterward.
Proxmox’s own Upgrade from 8 to 9 guide covers every edge case, but this is how to upgrade Proxmox on a single node. Before you start:
- Back up your VMs and containers and test a restore. If Proxmox Backup Server is installed on the same host, it has its own 3 to 4 upgrade to follow.
- Update to the latest 8.4 first, and
pveversionshould report at least 8.4.1. If 8 can’t update, switch its repositories with the web GUI steps above, which work the same on 8. Thetrixiefiles in the shell section are for 9, so don’t add them until step 3 below. - Then, if you run Ceph, upgrade it to 19.2 Squid with Proxmox’s guide.
- Have at least 5 GB free on the root filesystem, ideally more than 10 GB.
- Work from the physical console or out-of-band access if you can, and inside
tmuxif all you have is SSH (install it withapt install tmux), but not from the node’s Shell in the web GUI, which gets interrupted during the upgrade. A Proxmox cluster has to be healthy first, and the upgrade guide covers clusters.
1. Run the checklist script with --full. It changes nothing, so fix what it warns about and rerun it until it’s clean.
pve8to9 --full2. Switch the Debian sources from Bookworm to Trixie.
sed -i 's/bookworm/trixie/g' /etc/apt/sources.list
sed -i 's/bookworm/trixie/g' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list3. Add the same deb822 proxmox.sources file from the no-subscription section above (with a subscription, the pve-enterprise.sources block without its Enabled: no line), plus, if you run Ceph, a ceph.sources entry that says ceph-squid where the block above says ceph-tentacle. Then delete the old pve-enterprise.list, ceph.list and pve-install-repo.list from /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ if they exist, and the pve-no-subscription line from /etc/apt/sources.list if it’s there. Put a # before any line grep -rn bookworm /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ still lists (in a .sources file, replace bookworm with trixie).
4. Run apt update and confirm there are no errors (apt policy shows what’s configured), then run apt dist-upgrade, reading each configuration-file prompt before answering.
apt update
apt policy
apt dist-upgrade5. Run pve8to9 once more, then reboot into the new kernel.
6. Clear your browser cache (or force-reload) before logging into the web GUI.
A major upgrade is the one update where a tested backup isn’t optional. Even with one, nothing is guaranteed, so upgrade when you can afford some downtime and have a way back.
